New Delhi, Dec 18 (ANI): Home Affairs Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday made a statement over conversion issue and said that the prime minister did not speak at the Rajya Sabha over the issue because of disruptions by the opposition. Singh said that since he deals with issues of internal security, he would have given the reply to the debate. He went on to say that there was a possibility that the PM could also have intervened had the discussion taken place before lunch. Reacting on the same, CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury said that the opposition was ready for discussion before lunch and they only asked for the prime minister's reply on the debate.Dec 18, 2014

Bhagalpur, Dec 18 (ANI): Five members of an extremely backward caste family were converted to Christianity at a local church in Bhagalpur district of Bihar. Though the members said they willingly accepted Christianity, villagers suspected that they were converted under "allurement of getting medical treatment". All the five members are poor and suffer from some diseases. Though the family refuted any allurement, the villagers alleged they were guaranteed that their medical expenses would be borne if they convert into Christians. The BJP unit in Bihar will be sending a fact-finding team to Kharaiah village to probe the conversion incident.Dec 18, 2014

Earlier on Wednesday,Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had indicated that the army will increase its offensive in Khyber tribal region. He had said "this entire region" should be cleaned of terrorism.Dec 18, 2014

New Delhi, Dec 18 (ANI): Thousands of football lovers from the national capital flooded the Dr Ambedkar stadium in Delhi to witness the closing ceremony of the eighth Tamchon Football tournament. A total of 16 teams, comprising of players from the northeast, participated in the tournament to promote peace, friendship and unity among the youth of the country. The final match between Hmar FC and Siamsinpawlpi (SSPP) attracted a large crowd. The event was organized under the aegis of Tanghkul Naga Society, Delhi with support from various government and private agencies. Such events help to make Delhi'ites aware of sporting talent from the Northeast. Hmar FC won by 6-5 over SSPP by penalty goal. The winning team received the winning Trophy along with a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh while the SSPP FC bagged the runners-up trophy with a cash prize of Rs 3 Lakh.Dec 18, 2014

New Delhi, Dec 18 (ANI): Taking a jibe at Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu for his suggestion to change the capital's name from Delhi to Indraprastha or Hastinapur, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said on Thursday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) might also change the Indian Constitution. During a discussion in the Parliament on the National Capital of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Bill earlier this week, Naidu had suggested that Delhi should have been named either Indraprashtha or Hastinapur.Dec 18, 2014

Kupwara, Dec 18 (ANI): The brief encounter between militant and security forces ended in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, in which one militant was killed. The encounter began this morning after security forces received a tip-off about the presence of a foreign militant in a house in the village. The identity of the militant was not ascertained immediately. The attack comes just days ahead of the fifth phase of polling in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.Dec 18, 2014

Chhatarpur, Dec 18 (ANI): A 14-month-old boy got trapped after accidentally falling into a 100-feet deep borewell in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. The district administration initiated rescue operation, which is still in progress, soon after the incident. According to the police, the child was left alone near the borewell while her aunt was working in the adjacent farmland. He added that a team of doctors has also been rushed to the spot to work on providing oxygen to the child through a pipe. The parents of the child rushed to the incident site the moment they were informed. Krishna is their only child. This is not the first case of a child falling into an uncovered manhole in India. Due to the negligence on the part of authorities, several children have fallen into deep open borewells across the country.Dec 18, 2014